In less than three breaths, everyone had fallen to the ground.
Rong Zhi leaped down from the tree. Under the moonlight, she found several figures whose builds resembled Xia Yunting's, then affixed masks to their faces. She smeared a bit of bright red medicinal paste onto the masks, and then carried each of them off to different locations.
After completing her task, Rong Zhi arrived at the summit of Yanzi Mountain. She nimbly evaded the guards' surveillance and reached the large mansion from last time.
The estate was shrouded in moonlight, utterly silent. Rong Zhi placed her finger to her lips and let out a whistle. It wasn't loud, but the sound was melodious and graceful, an ancient tune.
Before long, five figures suddenly appeared from the undergrowth. They were oddly shaped and ugly, the five ghosts of Sanyang Mountain whom she had fought previously.
The blind man said, "Did you hear that? It sounds like that person."
"How is that possible? Didn't they say she died long ago? How could she be here?" The short man frowned, carefully scanning the surroundings, trying to pinpoint the direction of the sound. But the sound was faint and fleeting, and he had no time to distinguish it.
The lame man said, "I heard it too. It's definitely her. Didn't you forget what my father said? This is her signal to us, and we must remember it. Although it's been 20 years, we absolutely won't forget."
"Even if the sound is correct, it can't be her. Perhaps someone else stole this signal and is deliberately luring us out to set a trap."
As soon as he finished speaking, a shadow flashed through the woods in front of them, like a phantom, darting through the jungle at extreme speed.
The five ghosts were startled. The dwarf shouted, "Chase!" and he, along with the blind and deaf men, surged forward in pursuit. The other two remained to guard the spot, as if they had planned it beforehand.
The three pursued at full speed, their movements like arrows loosed from a bow. The grass and trees underfoot bent aside as if swept by the wind, only to return to their original positions. Astonishingly, not a single footprint was left behind.
Rong Zhi led the group down the mountain, to the spot where she had placed the fake "Xia Yunting" earlier. She lowered herself and disappeared into the grass, concealing her presence and observing the movements outside.
"The person is gone."
The deaf man spoke, his pair of crimson eyes fixed on their surroundings. Ever since he was ambushed last time, his eyesight had greatly diminished, and it was now difficult to spot prey at a glance as he once could.
The blind man also sighed, "I didn't hear anything. But the movement stopped abruptly here. That person must be hiding somewhere. No one can escape our tracking, the Five Ghosts."
The short man, hot-tempered, seeing that they couldn't find anyone, simply shouted into the surroundings.
"Who goes there? Show yourself at once! If you want a fight, we'll see it through to the end!"
His only answer was the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves.
Suddenly, the deaf man pointed into the grass, "What is that?"
As he spoke, he approached and lifted the person from the grass. Upon seeing the face, he was instantly shocked.
"Xia Yunting!"
The other two also came closer. After seeing the person, the short man immediately became suspicious.
"We've been stirring up Xia Yunting's nest lately, there's Xia Yunting everywhere. Who knows if this one is real or fake?"
"Could it be that he was the one who lured us here just now?" the deaf man asked.
The blind man immediately denied, "Impossible. Look at this half-dead state, he's been unconscious for a while. That person lured us here, perhaps to capture someone. Maybe they are not enemies."
"Don't let your guard down. Let me see if it's real or fake." The short man grabbed the person's face, intending to check the authenticity of the mask, when suddenly his hand went numb. He cried out and retreated backward.
"What's wrong?"
The other two noticed something amiss and quickly inquired.
The short man shook his head vigorously, wanting to say something, but could only let out a cry. He stumbled back two steps, finally bumping into a tree and falling to the ground. After a loud shout, he lost consciousness and lay motionless with his eyes closed.
"Dead?"
The blind man was stunned.
"No, his chest is still rising and falling," the deaf man said, his eyes wide as he observed. Then, he suddenly pushed the blind man, "Get out of the way!"
Both of them retreated to the sides. Halfway through their retreat, their bodies suddenly stiffened. Their hands and feet felt as if they were shackled, unable to move. They widened their eyes, unable to even struggle, and felt a wave of dizziness before both fell to the ground.
Rong Zhi emerged from the shadows and examined the three. She found that they had indeed fainted and shook her head slightly.
"Each generation is worse than the last. Compared to the old Five Ghosts, you are far inferior."
She first glanced at the short man under the tree, her mouth twitching.
Being this short, he was far from Xia Yunting's build.
Fortunately, the blind and deaf men had decent physiques, making them passable substitutes. Rong Zhi helped them up, affixed the masks to their faces, and finding their red robes too conspicuous, she simply grabbed a handful of mud from the ground and smeared it all over them. Then, she grabbed the two and headed towards Changping County.
Halfway there, Rong Zhi regretted not bringing Xiao Hei. Carrying two grown men was quite strenuous, but the situation was urgent, and she couldn't afford to be picky.
She dragged the two, dropping one at the small tavern in front of Chen Lin's house and the other into Tang Yuanjiang's room.
It was late at night, and the tavern had no customers. After Rong Zhi placed the blind man inside, she sealed his acupoint of speech. Then, she knocked on the back door. Hearing footsteps inside, she left and went to Tang Yuanjiang's room, doing the same. It successfully caused a commotion.
Whether it was the people in the tavern or Tang Yuanjiang, they were greatly shocked upon seeing this familiar face and immediately started fighting without a word. The deaf and blind men, unable to speak, could only fight back in self-defense, leading to a fierce battle.
Seeing the outcome, Rong Zhi nodded in satisfaction before returning to the mass grave. Upon her return, she found a person lying at the foot of the wall, unconscious.
Rong Zhi narrowed her eyes and examined the person's appearance. In his early twenties, with strong muscles and calluses on his hands, a short sword hung at his waist. He was likely affected by her sleeping powder and was currently in a deep slumber.
She immediately became wary. She had only just left, and this person had appeared outside the window to spy. He had likely been lurking outside for a long time, and she hadn't noticed at all. This person's stealth skills were truly exceptional.
Rong Zhi ignored him and opened the door to her room. Inside, the puppet she had made was still soaking in the bathtub. A small, delicate mechanism in the tub kept agitating the water, creating the illusion of someone bathing. Her silver needle trap had been triggered, indicating that if she hadn't been so cautious, she might have been exposed.
Yi Ming was woken by a clanging sound. He rubbed his aching head, his consciousness suddenly returning. He instinctively looked around and shrank himself smaller, like a wary hedgehog.
Then, he realized the sound was coming from inside the room. He frowned and slowly looked inside, discovering a woman in the candlelight with her robes loosely tied, cleaning up the water on the floor.
Suddenly, the woman looked up and flung the rag she was holding onto the window with a *pat*.
Yi Ming quickly ducked to the ground, only to hear the woman inside say, "What kind of rat is this? Be careful or I'll tear you to pieces!"
Discovered so quickly? He was a top-tier hidden master of Yin Xue Pavilion!
Panic seized him. He suddenly remembered his earlier unconsciousness, and the more he thought about it, the more fearful he became. But in the next moment, he heard a series of squeaking sounds. A large gray rat with a long tail emerged from a hole at the foot of the wall.
So it was a real rat.
The woman inside continued cleaning the room, talking to herself.
"Fortunately, I smeared medicine at the base of the wall. Never mind rats, even a living person would be knocked out by it. Otherwise, you stinky rat would have eaten all my stored food."
Yi Ming looked down. The rat walked only a few steps from the base of the wall before its steps became unsteady, swaying as if drunk, and then it fell to the ground with a *thump*.
He sniffed the air and indeed smelled an unusual odor. It turned out there was medicine smeared at the base of the wall, which explained why he had fainted earlier.
Could it be that he hadn't been discovered?
Yi Ming breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that the woman inside showed no unusual reaction, he quietly retreated and returned to his original post to keep watch.
Meanwhile, Xia Yunting and Chu Qingze were locked in a desperate battle.
Dozens of masked figures in black surrounded them, each with a murderous aura.
Chu Qingze couldn't help but curse, "Weren't we told there was only one assassin? Why are there so many people? Is Li Hao trying to get us killed by not explaining clearly?"
Xia Yunting's gaze was profound. Having already exchanged blows, he realized that these people were all skilled, completely unlike the ragtag group outside Yanzi Mountain. These were likely Tang Yuanjiang's men.
Using such a group to stage a play, besides testing his identity, was probably to gauge his strength. Xia Yunting understood and had no intention of revealing his full power. He simply asked Chu Qingze, "Can you still fight?"
Chu Qingze gasped for breath, his words tinged with gritted teeth.
"Whether I want to or not, I have to."
As he spoke, the surrounding crowd swarmed forward, and the two were instantly enveloped in a flurry of sword light and blade shadows. The fight quickly escalated to a white-hot stage. Two against dozens, the outcome seemed to have no suspense, yet those dozens seemed to be deliberately holding back, not delivering fatal blows. Thus, the battle was extremely protracted.
Xia Yunting sustained several wounds during the fight, and Chu Qingze fared no better.
Just as Chu Qingze and Xia Yunting were both knocked to the ground, the group of black-clad men suddenly stopped, forming a circle around them and sheathing their weapons in unison.
Chu Qingze wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, "What's going on? Are they going to kill us one by one?"
The crowd parted, and a tall, handsome man walked out from behind. Upon seeing his face, Xia Yunting's brow furrowed. This was... his face.
The person opposite chuckled, his tone extremely dismissive.
"Your martial arts are not bad, but even so, you still fell into my hands."
"Who exactly are you?"
"I am Xia Yunting." The newcomer stood with his hands behind his back, his demeanor arrogant and haughty, as if he considered himself the ruler of the world.
Xia Yunting? Chu Qingze felt a moment of doubt, then combined the current scene with Zhang Yajing's words about "testing."
One could not fully trust the person in front of him.
"You say you are Xia Yunting. Do you have any proof?"
"Heh, do I need proof to prove I am myself!" The other party seemed to find it an extremely amusing joke, then shifted his gaze to Xia Yunting, "Hmm, you do look a bit like me. I heard that people have been impersonating me lately. It must be your doing. I want to see if this face of yours is real or fake!"
He walked closer.
Xia Yunting clenched his fists.
His current appearance was naturally fake, but he couldn't let the other party know yet. He decided to strike the moment the other party approached, to eliminate them all.
The other party grabbed Xia Yunting's clothes, intending to lift him, but after two attempts, he didn't budge an inch.
"Damn it, quite heavy!"
He simply placed Xia Yunting on the ground, his scarred hand reaching towards his face, slowly searching for evidence of disguise.
Xia Yunting channeled his inner energy, ready to strike, prepared to smash a hole in the other party's stomach at any moment.
Just then, a carrier pigeon flew in from not far away and landed on the fake Xia Yunting's shoulder.
His movement paused, and he eventually retracted his hand and caught the pigeon.